How to get there, how to get around, where to find stuff and how to ask for it. These are tips from the local insider to make your stay here a breeze
I came back here three months ago, and in that short time I have faced just about every challenge a person to a new country can face. But, I am a much stronger man because of it. I have dealt with various housing and business issues, a broken computer, registration, passport extensions, teaching, losing a cell phone in the midst of yet another housing search, etc.
The biggest benefit from all of this is that intangible thing called experience. There is a reason why job recruiters have specific requirements regarding experience for most positions. Theoretically, a really …
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Things have really been great since I arrived - granted there were hiccups, many hiccups in fact, but all the same this has been a great choice. The place is really amazing. I had my birthday party this last weekend and about 20 people showed up. It was a mixed crowd of great folks, locals and expats alike. The friends that I have made since I have been here have been great.
Other than that, I am working a few hours a week - teaching some rich Korean kids - they are a bit of …
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Alright! So, after all that stuff with the apartment and with the internet my computer went ahead and crashed. It seemed like one thing after another, but I took it to the SONY repair shop with a friend, and they repaired it for 300 RMB - about $40 - small price to pay. Apparently, they don’t honor a SONY warranty from the US. Strange, but still a small price to pay and I am happy they were able to fix it quickly.
I am in my new crib and really like the location. There have been …
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Following is an artiticle from oregonlive.com . I am guessing from the name that she is not a native Chinese; but, she went all the way up the ladder of one of the biggest pizza chains in part (I assume,) because of the ability to speak Chinese. I am amazed with the amount of opportunity out here, but also daunted by it - there is so much activity and I want very much to be a part of it, as should you.
I have really been thinking a lot about the value in focus and purpose. It …
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I guess you can choose your own name here, so that is my Chinese name. It means “Little Dragon,” which is the Chinese (real) name of Bruce Lee. That is my joke with the ladies – never fails to get a laugh. I like to ask people their name when I meet them – In Chinese this is “Wo Jiao Shenme Mingzi?” Then they ask me my name and I say, “Wo Jiao Li Xiao Long!” For my first two weeks here I was Zheng Leng (Jackie Chan,) but I think Li Xiao Long is better.
Funny enough – I got that job at MAERSK. I guess there were probably two reasons for this:
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There is a very high demand for native English speakers here in Qingdao. There are many schools looking for a foreign face that they can then upsell to there clients. In fact, to them just the appearance is more important than the qualification.
This week I decided to make some money off of the referrals that I have been giving. I have a friend here that has his MBA from Yale as well as his TOEFL teaching certification. I met with the school that I have been teaching Business English with today to negotiate a finder’s fee. …
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Yesterday was a pretty productive day. I was able to get a job teaching English at a Korean school here in Qingdao. This will be a different experience than MAERSK, instead of teaching Adults, I will be teaching Children. It will be about 15 hours a week and the schedule is M,W,F from 5-8pm and S,Sn from 2-5pm. I think this will be a pretty good schedule because it will allow me to focus on Chinese during the day. Speaking of which, I bumped that up to four hours per day starting Monday. I …
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That is what they say getting money back from a Chinese person is like. I spent the last month in my apartment with major noise and water problems, and, given the amount I was paying for the place, it just wasn’t acceptable. I allowed the owner several attempts to solve the problem, but it always remained the same. Several times, he said he would try one more thing and if it didn’t work he would let me out of the contract. So, I spent a sleepless month with cold showers, missing many classes and a couple days of work. Finally, he agreed to let me out of the contract last week, only to change his mind the next morning. I was frustrated and upset because I was paying a lot and was very uncomfortable, and most importantly, everything was on hold until I could get the problem solved. I didnt want to have internet installed or buy items if I was going to be leaving anyway. Finally, between my agent and another friend, we were able to pursuade him to terminate the contract and refund most of my money. Nobody I know here thought it could be done. The society is so relationship-based that if you dont have the right ones it can be difficult to get anything done around here. I have run a marathon before, I graduated college after having dropped out of high-school, etc. and, from what others have told me, getting that money back was harder than either.
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Well, well, well. This is really starting to suck; if for no other reason than my six month internet connection is not going to fit very well with my six month rent. I am still waiting to get this water fixed, and also to install my internet (need to make sure that I am going to stay, first.) The water gets luke warm after about 20 minutes - so, let that be a lesson to you, check first!!
Not much new here, just had some dinner with a nice couple that I met over the last month or …
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It came to me last night - after spending a frustrating evening trying to get by in Chinese - quite unsuccessfully. I am here in China for one primary reason and that is to learn the Chinese language. Now, let’s be honest with each other, this isn’t your Mammy’s Spanish were talking about - this is Chinese!!! Couple that with the fact that I have never learned a language before and that I’m starting my first at 32 (33 in a month) and we have quite a challenge on our hands. I am willing to put everything I have into it, and if I can do it anyone can, do anything. Oh yeah, I have another confession to make, I am tone-deaf! - and Chinese is a tone-based language. I am so tone-deaf in fact, that, when I was waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory, I was banned from even singing “happy birthday.” Believe me, this is a true story.
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